Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Roller Coaster Ride

This morning, Bob met a structural engineer over at the house. He had sent him a copy of the appraisal so that he'd know why the bank was concerned, and the engineer had read over it before meeting Bob this morning.

He was shocked. After reading the appraisal, he thought, What are these folks getting themselves into? And then he went through the house. And he was really impressed. The house is really solid, and incredibly well-built. He had no concerns about the structural integrity. He's going to write up a "clean bill of health" for our bank. I think he's also going to reference how misleading the appraisal is, with all of its references to the flaws, and none to the house's [many] positive attributes.

Now don't freak out (I know, that's the pot calling the kettle black), but here's one of the house's flaws:Those are my brothers-in-law, Jon and Steve, up there. I love this picture, and I don't even know why, though if I thought about it much, I'm sure I could come up with reasons. I do not have time today.

There was a small fire in the base of the chimney, and they repaired the chimney but not the siding. Yep, we're buying a house with [a horrible chain link fence and] plywood on the side of it. It doesn't look pretty. Yet. But it will! (Oh, and they also have tried out various paint colors around the house on the siding. I think there are probably at least five different colors around the house. Here, you can see just two.)

Anyway, after the stress of yesterday, I feel particularly thankful for the hope I have now, after the engineer's assessment this morning. I don't know that we could have asked for a better result from their meeting this morning. Now, I just hope the bank is convinced. They should be. Let's see if they are.